free hit counter

Fine-tune your reading for better English

05.08.2012

Reading (and listening) is the key to language development. More specifically, the comprehensible input we get from reading and listening is the key to language development. Without it very little happens. With it, vocabulary grows, a feel for correctness emerges, and fluency increases. Comprehensible input is necessary and also sufficient to achieve your goal – better English.

Read More

Discover great reads by great writers

04.18.2012

If you want to improve your English, there’s nothing better than a healthy reading diet of interesting, understandable English. And if you want to become a good writer, there’s no better way than to read the works of good writers. Byliner, a relatively new web site, simplifies finding and choosing good things to read and promises to help you “discover great reads by great writers.”

Read More

Writing lessons from the masters

04.05.2012

Good writing comes mostly from reading what good writers have written. But quite a few good writers, like C.S. Lewis, John Steinbeck, and George Orwell, have also taken the time to write tips – practical suggestions – for good writing.

Read More

Something to listen to

02.23.2012

If you’re tired of news and want something different to listen to to improve your English, Audiofiles may become your new best friend. Audiofiles is the audio version of longform journalism – what I have called “more than news, different than fiction.”

Read More

Lessons for better English

01.31.2012

Lessons for better English is a collection of Successful English articles – organized like a textbook or course outline – for English students and teachers. Its goal – to help you improve your English by helping you understand and practice successful language acquisition.

Read More

A free ticket to Narnia

12.21.2011

The Chronicles of Narnia, according to one writer, is one of the few sets of books that everyone should read three times – in childhood, in early adulthood, and late in life. Many of my students have enjoyed the Chronicles, written by C.S. Lewis. They’re enjoyable and easy to understand for both intermediate and advanced English learners. And now an audio version of the Chronicles is available – free!

Read More

Something to read at the end of 2011

12.13.2011

Welcome to the 2011 holiday edition of Something to read! Two of my favorite sources for online reading have just published their end-of-2011 reading lists, and I want to share them with you.

Read More

Reading improves students’ writing

12.06.2011

There’s strong agreement among the writers, teachers, and researchers I know best: good writing comes from reading. Many students, however, have trouble accepting this fact. In this article – a case study – I describe the effect that reading has had on one student’s writing.

Read More

A language teacher acquires a new language

11.30.2011

Alex teaches English at an American university. He’s also the director of the university’s TESL program, where students learn how to teach English as a second language. When he wanted to learn Spanish, he began as many English learners do. And failed. He found success, though, when he applied a simple principle and found some creative ways to make it work.

Read More

Better reading – look for the clues

11.11.2011

When you read to improve your English, you want to read for pleasure. You want to choose something that’s easy and interesting, that allows you to “get lost” in what you’re reading and forget that it’s English. But sometimes you must read to learn, for example, on the TOEFL exam. What do you do then?

Read More

Better reading – it’s in the chunks

10.30.2011

What is reading? Very simply, reading is trying to make sense of a sentence, paragraph, essay, article, or book. It’s trying to understand what’s in the writer’s mind. And the key to making sense of what we read is in the chunks – groups of words – not individual words.

Read More

Revising for better English

08.25.2011

“So what is good English?” asks William Zinsser. “…it’s plain and it’s strong,” he answers. “It has a huge vocabulary of words that have a precise shade of meaning; there’s no subject however technical or complex, that can’t be made clear to the ordinary reader in good English – if it’s used right.”

Read More

Something to read – August 2011

08.11.2011

Something to Read for August 2011 – more than news, different than fiction; a monthly collection of articles about fascinating people, events, and ideas for high intermediate and advanced readers.

Read More

Does practice make perfect English?

07.28.2011

Practice (verb) – to do an activity, often regularly, in order to improve a skill or prepare for a test. “I need more practice” may be the most frequent statement I receive from English learners. How concerned should they be about practice?

Read More

Making good choices

07.07.2011

One of my students – let’s call him Bryan – recently asked me, “How can I be sure that what I’m reading (or listening to) is good for me?” Bryan wants to improve his English as quickly as possible, and he’s worried about wasting time.

Read More